Why has our life expectancy increased so much since the American Revolution? According to Presidential candidate Rick Santorum: “Because God says they have rights.” What about the role of sanitation, nutrition, education, medicine?

Ice 9 by toastforbrekkie. The idea of Ice-9, although fictional, has always fascinated me. Its properties are so powerful, so influential, that one “seed crystal” can direct its entire surroundings, freezing oceans. A recent discovery of one component of the cell wall of bacterium reminded me of this effect. Let me explain.